Global Malnutrition: FCDO Role

David Mundell Excerpts

Tuesday 8th December 2020 Westminster Hall

[David Mundell (Dumfriesshire, Clydesdale and Tweeddale) (Con)]

It is a real pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Davies.

I am particularly grateful to the hon. Member for Glasgow East (David Linden), not only for his work in securing this debate on the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office’s role in tackling global malnutrition, but for all his efforts as co-chair of the all-party parliamentary group on nutrition for growth. As co-chair of that group, I know that he has been at the forefront of the push for a pledge from the Government for a multi-year settlement on nutrition for growth. When he and I appeared before the Backbench Business Committee to argue for this debate, these were not the circumstances in which we envisaged it taking place, but we were clear that it was important that this issue is highlighted.

I commend to you, Mr Davies, and other Members present an excellent article that appears in The Herald today, which is headed, “Britain must not lose sight of those who go to sleep hungry”, with the by-line, “For many, malnutrition can pose a greater threat than covid”. I think we have already heard that in contributions to the debate.

Like the hon. Member for Glasgow East, I am concerned that the pledge has not yet been made and worried that UK support for nutrition faces a potential financial cliff edge in a few days. This debate provides the Minister with an opportunity to respond to those concerns. I know from my own direct experience of working with her—not in this House, but in Rwanda as part of what was then the Conservative party’s development programme, Project Umubano—her own level of personal commitment to development. I also know, from our own meetings with her, that she will pursue this issue, but we need action.

As the hon. Member for City of Chester (Christian Matheson) said, it was recently announced by the Canadian and Bangladeshi Governments that there will be a virtual event early next week, and I hope that the Minister will confirm that she will be part of it. It has been styled “a year of action on nutrition” and that is really what we want to see from this debate today. We want to see action and we want to hear about a definitive timeline for when decisions on nutrition will be announced here in the UK.

Obviously, we had hoped that the pledge would have been made already and that the Nutrition for Growth summit in Tokyo would have taken place. Although it is obviously understandable why that event is not going ahead and has been postponed, the needs of those who are reliant on UK support cannot simply be postponed.

The need for UK commitment is clear. Malnutrition is a factor in 45% of all deaths of under-fives worldwide and the head of the UN World Food Programme expects another 130 million people to face starvation, and that a further 6 million children are likely to suffer wasting. Stunting, as the hon. Gentleman has already said, causes lifelong health complications and it is set to rise dramatically after years of decline. Perhaps most disturbingly, an additional 433 children are expected to die of malnutrition every single day.

Further to the appalling human cost of malnutrition is the financial cost: a staggering $3.5 trillion to the global economy. The World Bank estimates that, for some countries, up to 11% of GDP is lost each year to otherwise avoidable healthcare costs and reduced workforce productivity.

However, we know how to alleviate this. The UK’s interventions have reached over 50 million women of child-bearing age, adolescent girls and children under five. This, among other successes, has supported a steady reduction in the number of children who were suffering from stunting from roughly 170 million to 144 million. As has been referenced, we need to highlight those successes and the positive impact that has already been made by our previous commitment.

Moreover, nutrition enables and increases the effectiveness of the UK’s action in other areas, such as health, education, economic development and helping those in conflict zones. A malnourished mother-to-be is much more likely to suffer complications. A hungry child is one fifth less likely to be able to read by the time they are eight. An adult living with stunting will have greater barriers to reaching their economic potential. Those growing up hungry are far more likely to find themselves vulnerable to the offers of dangerous groups.

Nutrition is a keystone of effective aid. It is also exceptional value for money, which I know is a matter that you take a great interest in, Mr Davies. As the Independent Commission for Aid Impact noted, while offering a green-amber rating, the UK’s nutrition programmes are one of the most cost-effective development actions, with significant economic returns. Indeed, research suggests that every £1 invested in nutrition spending will yield, on average, a £16 return.

I am proud of the UK’s record on nutrition. Its leadership brought us the first ever Nutrition for Growth summit in 2013, where Governments, NGOs and the private sector united around a common set of objectives to end malnutrition and pledged £17 billion to the cause. From the very positive interactions that we have had this year, I want the UK to maintain leadership in this field, as I am sure the Minister does too. To that end, I ask her for the following: to recommit to reaching 50 million women, adolescent girls and children with high impact nutrition interventions over the next four years; to ensure that at least £680 million of the FCDO spend in other areas is adapted to include nutrition outcomes; and to commit to spending at least £120 million per year on nutrition-specific interventions.

As the hon. Member for Glasgow East pointed out, that is less than we spent in 2017 and 2018 to account for the effects of covid-19 on the UK economy, but it is still ambitious enough to make meaningful progress. Without such commitments, we will potentially waste the progress that our aid has made in recent years, and right at the time when those who need that support need it the most.